Netanyahu dealt major setback in Israel’s election

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rightwing allies fell short of winning a parliamentary majority in Israel’s latest election, according to a final vote count released Thursday.

The resulting political deadlock put the longtime leader’s future in question.

The fourth election in just two years brought a stinging rebuke for Netanyahu, the most dominant figure in Israeli politics in a generation.

Adding to the pain, he lost ground to former partners who vowed never to sit in a government with him again.

Under Israel’s fragmented political system, Netanyahu could still try to reach across the aisle and cobble together a governing coalition. But the makeup of the new parliament will make that extremely difficult, giving his opponents the upper hand in coalition talks.

“It is clear that Netanyahu does not have a majority to form a government under his leadership,” said Gideon Saar, one of the former Netanyahu allies. “Action must now be taken to realize the possibility of forming a government for change.”

In order to form a government, a candidate must work with allied partners to secure a 61-seat majority in the Knesset, or parliament.

According to the final results released by Israel’s election commission, Netanyahu and his allies captured 52 seats, and his opponents held 57.

In the middle were two undecided parties: Yamina, a seven-seat nationalist party headed by a former Netanyahu lieutenant, and Raam, an Arab Islamist party that won four seats.